Page 9 of Shifting Hearts

NINE

Breaking Chains

Paris

I wake to silence.

The cabin is empty. Again.

For a moment, I lie still, staring at the ceiling beams, waiting for the bond to settle. But it doesn’t. It howls. Screams. Tears at me from the inside. The hollow where Ranger should be is a wound that burns deeper every time he leaves me.

He was here. I felt him. And now he’s gone again, like I’m too much, like I’m not worth staying for. Just like Gabriel.

A low growl rumbles in my chest before I even realize it. My nails bite into my palms, my breath sharp and uneven.

The bond thrums harder, my animal stirring. My panther scratches at the inside of my skin for the first time since the refusal. She is restless, furious, and her voice cuts through the fog of hurt. Enough. If he won’t come to us - we’ll make him face us.

“No,” I whisper, shaking. But it’s useless.

The shift rips through me without warning.

Pain lances down my spine, my bones grinding, muscles tearing, stretching, and reforming. I gasp, collapsing to the floor as black fur bursts across my skin, sharp claws gouge the wooden floorboards, and my vision swims. It hurts, Goddess, it hurts, but beneath the pain is fire.

Power.

Freedom.

When I lift my head again, the world is sharper. Every scent, every sound, is more alive than it was a moment ago. Ranger’s trail glows bright in the dark like a brand I can’t ignore.

My panther takes control.

I bolt into the night, my paws pounding the earth, the forest rushing past in streaks of shadow and silver light. His scent wraps around me, raw and heavy, a mixture of smoke, pine, and pure male masculinity.

Mine.

I find him at the riverbank in his human form, crouched low, his muscles tense like he’s about to shift. His head jerks up as I crash through the brush, my growl shaking the air.

“Paris….”

I don’t let him finish. With a snarl, I launch at him, slamming into his chest. He stumbles back, his claws flashing out just in time to catch my shoulder, but I don’t stop. I rake at him, bite at him, forcing him to face me.

His roar splits the night, his own beast surging. But he doesn’t shift, he doesn’t strike back and doesn’t hurt me. He just blocks, deflects, and takes the brunt of my fury with clenched teeth and wild eyes.

I shift mid-lunge, pain tearing me apart again, fur retreating, and bones snapping back into place until I hit him as a woman instead of a panther.

Naked.

Bruised.

Shaking with rage.

“Why?” My scream rips through the forest as I shove at his chest, fists pounding against his solid frame. “Why the hell do you keep pushing me away?”

He grips my wrists, holding me still, his chest heaving against mine. His eyes, storm-grey, wild, burn down into me with something I can’t name.

“I can’t….” His voice breaks, raw. “If I touch you, Paris, I won’t stop. And you’re not ready. You deserve more than to be claimed when you’re still bleeding from someone else’s rejection.”

Tears sting my eyes, my chest heaving with fury and heartbreak. “Don’t you get it? He didn’t break me…. you are! ”

The words rip from me like claws, and for a moment, I think he’ll finally walk away for good.

Instead, Ranger’s grip on my wrists tightens. His chest heaves, his storm-grey eyes blazing with a mix of fury, pain, and something darker, something hungrier.

“Paris…” His voice is ragged, half a growl, half a plea.

I struggle against him, shoving, twisting, every nerve on fire. But he doesn’t let go. He yanks me closer instead, until I slam against his chest, my breasts pressed to the hard wall of muscle, my thighs brushing his.

The bond roars.

Heat crashes over me, so strong my knees buckle. My body betrays me, arching into him even as my voice shakes with anger.

“Why? Why fight it if you feel it too?”

His jaw clenches, his breath hot against my cheek. “Because if I take you now, I won’t give you back. And if you ever regret me, if you ever look at me the way you looked at him , I won’t survive it.”

My breath catches, my chest aching. The pain in his voice cuts deeper than claws.

But the fire in my blood is stronger. I twist my wrists in his hold, and suddenly his balance slips.

We stumble together, crashing to the ground.

He lands flat on his back, and I end up straddling him, my naked body pressed flush against his.

We both freeze.

His hands are still on my wrists, but his grip has gone slack, his eyes wide, blown black with desire. I can feel him, hard and straining beneath me, his cock pulsing against the heat between my thighs.

The world tilts.

Every ounce of fury twists into something else, something hotter, something so much sharper and hungrier. I grind against him before I can stop myself, a moan tearing from my throat.

“Fuck.” His curse is strangled, his hold on my wrists disappearing. His entire body trembles beneath me, his control snapping one crack at a time.

“You want me,” I whisper, my voice shaking with anger and need. “You can’t deny it.”

His eyes lock on mine, wild and unguarded. “Wanting you isn’t the problem. It’s what comes after.”

The bond hums, insistent, furious at the distance he keeps putting between us. My heart pounds, my body slick with heat, the ache between my legs unbearable.

I lean down, my lips brushing his jaw, my whisper hot against his ear. “Then stop thinking about after.”

For a heartbeat, he doesn’t move. Doesn’t even breathe.

Then his snarl rips the night open, and his hips buck hard beneath me.